Phoebe is at my back as I approach the front door.
“Phoebe, you’re going to catch a chill, go back with Marsha.”
“No,” she says, lifting her pointed chin.She’s always reminded me a bit of a faerie or some kind of mischievous sprite, with her chin and sprinkling of freckles over porcelain cheeks and the faintest pink flush.When we first met, she had her hair cut short like a pixie.It’s since grown out and goes a bit past her shoulders.It’s in a ponytail today, and I miss how it was loose the other night.
I can’t resist reaching out and pushing an escaped strand behind her ear so I can feel the silk.Her breath catches, but it must be from the latest gust of wind.It couldn’t have been my touch.She hands me the flashlight, and I turn it on to make sure the batteries are working.Of course they are.Finn would be prepared and know what to do.
Unsure of what I’ll see outside, I take a deep breath, open the door, and slip outside.Oh, shit.Slipping is right.It’s not rain that’s being blown against the windows, it’s sleet and tiny little hailstones.We’re in the middle of an ice storm.Swinging the flashlight in an arc, I see exactly what I expected—downed trees across the road.The house across the street is unoccupied, as are all the others on this stretch of road.Tall, thin pines that used to flank the house across the street have fallen, blocking the road to get out.
This is a dead-end street ending in, you guessed it, a marsh.The damn marshes are on either side of the road, and there aren’t shoulders to drive on.I can’t take the risk of driving us into a marsh trying to get around the downed trees.We’re stuck here until the storm stops and I can go out and try to cut up the trees.If Finn has an axe or a chainsaw.Damn it.It’s starting to feel like one of those horror movies I’m too scared to watch about the lone house on the dead-end street and the recently escaped-from-jail serial killer stalking the young couple that lives there.
Now that I’ve creeped myself out, I rush back into the cottage, slamming the door and engaging all the locks.
“How is it?”Phoebe asks.She’s tilting her head side to side like she’s trying to relieve pressure in her neck.
May as well be honest.“Messy.It’s not rain anymore.It’s sleet and maybe tiny hail.A couple of trees fell across the road, so they’ll need to be cleared before we can drive out.I’ll take care of it tomorrow.We’ll be fine.We have what we need here, and I’m sure this house has been through tons of storms like this.”
She looks skeptical.“The house is about five years old, and I think the past few winters have been relatively mild.This seems like a nor’easter.They dump a ton of rain, and if it gets cold enough, snow.”
Oh, crap.I remember Finn saying something about nor’easters and how he hated them.He’d take Marsha to his office on the local wildlife refuge to ride out the storm in the comfort of the reinforced cement headquarters.Well, that’s not a possibility, so we’ll have to ride it out here.It’ll be okay.It has to be.
I go into Boy Scout mode and start gathering candles, plugging in our phones to charge along with the batteries Finn has for power tools like saws and drills, but I don’t see the tools themselves.I’ll look in the morning.He has a power inverter, so we can use that to plug in a lamp or something.I make sure I know where the snow shovel is.He doesn’t have rock salt because of its effect on the environment, but he has bags of sand that I’ll spread for traction if necessary.Good enough.I’m just finishing filling every pot, pan, and pitcher I can with water when Phoebe walks by with an armful of blankets and drops them on the sofa.
“Hey, don’t be carrying stuff, that’s my job.Sit down.We can watch a movie or show or something.”I find the Tylenol in a drawer, hold up the bottle, and shake it.Marsha looks with interest until she realizes it’s not Kitty Crunchies and gives me a disgusted look.“Do you want to take something for your arm?”
“Yeah,” Phoebe says with a sigh.“Only one.”
I shake one out to her left palm and hold a glass of water for her.She takes it and swallows the pill.
“Is it going to make you loopy?”I ask.I don’t mind loopy Phoebe at all, but I want to know what to expect.
She gives the cutest half smile.“Nah, it was two super duper strength Tylenol on an empty stomach that did me in.Now that I’ve eaten, I’ll be fine.A half dose usually does the trick.I’m not in serious pain, but it’s getting achy.I’m going to change into comfier clothes.”
“That’s fine.Whatever you need.”I shake out some treats for Marsha, and she delicately eats them from the palm of my hand, deigning to let me pet between her silky ears.I’m a dog person, but Marsha is a nice cat.
I hear Phoebe moving around the guest room and try to not imagine what she’s doing.
“Um…Ollie?Can you help me?”
7
OLLIE
I squeezemy eyes closed as I bite back a groan and think of all the ways she could need my help.Pretty sure my ideas don’t match hers.What a pity.
I rap lightly on the door.“What do you need, Phoebs?”
My breath catches when she opens the door, and I see her with a T-shirt half on her torso.She got her healthy arm out, but her head is still through the neckline and her wrapped arm through its armhole.I can clearly see one full breast encased in a pink lacy bra before I jerk my eyes upward.I did not need to know she wore pink lace.My cock stirs, and I wonder if it wouldn’t be a good idea to go for a walk in the sleet to cool down.
“I need help with my jeans.Like now.”
She’s kind of hopping back and forth, doing a weird little dance.I don’t know why she needs help now.She was fine when she used the bathroom.Record scratch.I don’t think she’s used the toilet since we’ve been together.
“Yeah!Okay.Pants.”I kneel in front of her so I can get a clear view of the button on her jeans.My fingers feel massive, pushing the button through its hole.I glimpse Phoebe’s soft white tummy above the waistband.If I was a different man and this was a different time, I’d press a kiss to it.“Zipper too?”
At her frantic nod, I pull the zipper down.More pink lace.It’s best I stay on my knees for now—if I stand, my erection is going to be obvious.Down here, it’s almost like an extra leg.
“Help me pull them down?I have the left side, push down the right?”
